EU Commits N847m To Combat Diphtheria Disease In Nigeria

The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has given one million euros (N847 million) to combat the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria’s Northeast and Northwest regions.

To address the disease outbreak in Nigeria, the bloc contributed money to support the most impacted populations and stop the disease’s spread.

In a statement released by the EU Embassy in Abuja, the group committed, stating that the EU will use the 34 million euros in June 2023 to combat diseases and climate-related issues, among other things.

This amount, according to the statement, is an addition to the 150,000 euros that were previously given to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Disaster Response Emergency amount (DREF) in March 2023 in an attempt to aid in the control of the outbreak.

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With this additional EU financing, UNICEF and the medical non-governmental organization ALIMA will be able to support frontline health services with staff and technical assistance to improve surveillance and case detection, treat cases, raise community awareness, and help with vaccine procurement.

“Nigeria is currently facing the world’s second-largest diphtheria outbreak with 10,322 confirmed and 16,616 suspected cases since the beginning of the year.

Kano State represents the outbreak’s epicentre with 8,447 confirmed cases and 589 deaths. The most affected states are Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, and Kaduna, which collectively account for 96 per cent of all suspected cases.

“Despite control efforts since the outbreak’s start in late 2022, the disease has gradually spread to other states in the Northwest and Northeast regions.

“Children aged 1 to 14 years are the most affected, representing 72 per cent of all confirmed cases. Analysis of the vaccination status reveals that over 60 per cent of all suspected cases have not been vaccinated.”